Golden Age of India

Late Middle Ages and early modern era

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire has often been called the last golden age of India. It was founded in 1526 by Babur of the Barlas clan, after his victories at the First Battle of Panipat and the Battle of Khanwa, against the Delhi Sultanate and Rajput Confederation, respectively. Over the following centuries, under Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire would grow in area and power and dominate the Indian subcontinent, reaching its maximum extent under Aurangzeb. This imperial structure lasted until 1720, shortly after the death of Aurangzeb, following which it gradually converted from a centralised autocracy into a collection of autonomous vassal states who accepted the nominal suzerainty of the emperor. The empire was formally dissolved by the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The Mughals adopted and standardised the rupee (rupiya, or silver) and dam (copper) currencies introduced by Sur emperor Sher Shah Suri during his brief rule.

A major sector of the Mughal economy was agriculture. A variety of crops were grown, including food crops such as wheat, rice, and barley, and non-food cash crops such as cotton, indigo, and opium. By the mid-17th century, Indian cultivators began to extensively grow maize and tobacco, imported from the Americas. The Mughal administration emphasised agrarian reform, started by Sher Shah Suri, the work of which Akbar adopted and furthered with more reforms. The civil administration was organised in a hierarchical manner on the basis of merit, with promotions based on performance, exemplified by the common use of the seed drill among Indian peasants, and built irrigation systems across the empire, which produced much higher crop yields and increased the net revenue base, leading to increased agricultural production.

Manufacturing was also a significant contributor to the Mughal economy; the empire produced about 25% of the world's industrial output until the end of the 18th century. Manufactured goods and cash crops were sold throughout the world. Key industries included textiles, shipbuilding, and steel. Processed products included cotton textiles, yarns, thread, silk, jute products, metalware, and foods such as sugar, oils, and butter The Mughal Empire also took advantage of the demand for Indian products in Europe, particularly cotton textiles, as well as goods such as spices, peppers, indigo, silks, and saltpeter (for use in munitions). European fashion, for example, became increasingly dependent on Mughal Indian textiles and silks. From the late 17th century to the early 18th century, India accounted for 95% of British imports from Asia, and Bengal Subah province alone accounted for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia.

The largest manufacturing industry in the Mughal Empire was textile manufacturing, particularly cotton, which included the production of piece goods, calicos, and muslins. By the early 18th century, Mughal Indian textiles were clothing people across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. The most important centre of cotton production was Bengal province, particularly around its capital city of Dhaka.